Jazz Influence On American Culture

Jazz has had a profound effect on American culture and we now consider it an important American contribution to the world of music. Jazz is viewed today as a musical genre that was pioneered by brilliant African-American musicians, silently rebel against American society, and jazz is considered a unique, American musical creation. When jazz music first originated in New Orleans in the early 1900s, very few people in music culture appreciated it as music, many called it a barbaric form of music, and thought it should be quickly eliminated, because it didn’t conform to norms established by European composers and performers, and many thought that jazz musicians worked "to make civilized music by civilized methods out of essentially barbaric material” …show more content…
Jazz has influenced American culture by changing racial stereotypes and by becoming a symbol of revolt against established traditions. Jazz music not only changed racial perceptions about blacks in the United States but around the world. Jazz music helped to bridge the gap between different sections of American society, and unite people. Jazz music by its very nature was a revolt against the establishment. Jazz music became a symbol of revolt and change in the music landscape, and broadly showcases the American love affair with change and revolution. American culture today is influenced by “disrupters”, who dared to think differently and choose to innovate, and early American jazz musicians were some of the very first “disrupters” in the 20th century. Another idea that jazz music has ingrained into the American culture is a sense of wanting to stand out and not blend in with society, jazz musicians wanted to be individualistic and unique (Levine 19). Jazz musicians in small chamber music groups usually played solo choruses in their pieces, and this idea of individualism is a large part of the American identity; the idea of the individual and an